by John Glynn | Aug 16, 2014 | Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Porsche News
Enjoyed a run in this sweet used Porsche 997 GT2 for sale earlier this week: a 2008 registered/2009 model year car with the full Manthey M600 power upgrade and some other fun bits. The car arrived for sale and was sold soon after to a keen driver and regular customer. Small wonder when it is such a special machine.
JZM is the UK Manthey agent and built this car from new for the original owner. The factory spec is comprehensive enough, but this GT2 also runs: M600 engine upgrade, Manthey MM1 magnesium wheels, KW HLS2 nose lift system and Nürburgring-approved Manthey carbon bits including front spoiler, front arch Gurneys, sill trims and rear wing extension.
Inside it has even more carbon with PCM3, black leather sports seats and Schroth harnesses as well as the normal seatbelts. Upgrades to the six-speed manual transmission include a Manthey short shift and gearbox overhaul with a few tweaks at Frikadelli Racing. Manthey replaced the upgraded 890 Nm clutch in April of this year. It shifts like a dream, and needs that upgraded clutch pack.
Standard power in a GT2 is 530 bhp, but only a stone cold example holds on to those horses. As heat increases so power is lost, with the plastic-capped intercoolers soaking up heat and frying intake temps. Manthey solves the problem with bigger all-aluminium intercoolers, also adding adding 200-cell cats and an all-new Akrapovic silencer.
As intake temperatures are now much lower, and the gases can exit the car freely, Olaf’s boys remap the better-breathing GT2 on their 850 bhp Maha dyno, taking power to a dependable 600 horsepower (hence the M600).
On the road, the car is a pussycat. JZM’s Steve McHale took us up the nearby A41 for a few miles, exploiting gaps in the traffic to best advantage. An older Porsche with this much power on a wet greasy road would be a proper handful, but even when the traction light flashed at 5,000 revs in fourth gear, the car never deviated from the straightest of lines.
Noise is my only complaint about modern 911s. They all make a stunning amount of noise through those massive rear tyres, and the M600 GT2 is no exception. Trying to make a hands-free phone call on a grainy road surface like this English dual carriageway would be somewhat frustrating, but talking on the move is no problem.
All too soon, our twenty mile spin is over. The car gets a clean bill of health and I tick another 911 off the bucket list. A police car out front on the return leg kept our speeds fairly sensible, but the Manthey Porsche 997 GT2 M600 will top 203 mph where limits allow: 200 reasons to open your wallet.
by John Glynn | Jul 28, 2014 | Market & Prices, Porsche News, Race and Rally
Porsche’s South African connections have bought the Kyalami Circuit near Johannesburg, South Africa. Recently offered at auction as commercial development land, the South African Porsche dealer CEO apparently had to put £200k on deposit to bid in an auction sale that eventually lasted less than a minute. The final purchase price was just under $20 million, or £11.5 Million.
The purchase joins up a news loose end for me as, a few weeks ago, my number 1 Jo’burg informant sent me a picture of a 919 Hybrid-like creature being trailered away from the circuit. I did some research and found the link to the auction. I suspected something could be happening but did not want to speculate. That kind of chat makes it dearer for everyone. That said, the secret obviously escaped as the reserve went from zero to R129 Million to R200 Million within a few days.
Porsche Kyalami Circuit purchase
What will happen with the circuit? Could be a hot weather testing zone open to Volkswagen/Porsche badge, with the added ability of customer experience and on-site vehicle engineering centres. Jo’burg is also a great place for car launches in the depths of winter without having to fly to Australia. Summer runs from October to April, when snow never happens, rain is infrequent and January temps approach 30 degrees.
The main thing is no one will build houses on it, so well done to the J’Burgers for stepping up. That said, I’m sure it could make a tidy profit if they did split some of it off for development.
The Old Kyalami
Alastair Caldwell, friend of Ferdinand, former McLaren team manager and now erstwhile marathon rally driver, tells some great stories about Kyalami, back when his driver James Hunt gorged on the breakfast of champions. I can’t think of one that’s repeatable, but no doubt the legend of the old Kyalami circuit’s speed and debauchery lives on in race circles. With Mexico coming back on the GP calendar, maybe Kyalami will be next. It would certainly make a good WEC venue, although the new circuit is not as exciting as the old one, which was raced until 1985.
Old Kyalami was absolutely awesome. The lap finished in a huge uphill climb to the main straight where the cars could reach more than 200 mph on a surface rougher than a Belgian motorway. Check out this video of Prost in the Renault during 1983. They don’t make them like this anymore!
by John Glynn | Jul 22, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Another pair of low mileage collector Porsche 911 models has come up for sale. The prices have already started online tongues wagging, but that is no bad thing when the cars concerned are rare and ooze quality.
Porsche 996 GT3 RS Low Mileage for sale
If someone had told me this time last year that prices for 996 GT3 RS would touch £150,000 within twelve months, I’d have grown a second pair of eyebrows to raise in response. But this low mileage Porsche 996 GT3 RS now on sale is priced just off that.
It’s brave pricing but, with just 9,300 miles on the clock and apparently no track use in its past, this could be a last chance for serious collectors to grab a mint RHD 996 GT3 RS in their ascent towards air-cooled 911 Carrera RS price levels in thirty years.
Before you slam the keyboard, I’m not saying the two are comparable or that 996 GT3s will ever hit half-a-million quid a piece: I’m just throwing it out there. I’m already dazed by current 911 Carrera RS prices, so who knows what is possible for the water-cooled classics.
Porsche 993 Turbo S Low Mileage for sale
In the same used Porsche showroom as the low-mileage Porsche 996 GT3 RS is this rare Porsche 993 Turbo S for sale. Amongst the rarest of the rare air-cooled Turbos, the black-with-tan Turbo S has done just 17,100 miles from new and is offered at a price I am scared to say out loud.
I like 993 Turbos – really like them – but they are one of those super-capable Porsche 911s where, no matter what you do, the car will generally sort your mess out. It is hard to hoon around in a 993 Turbo and seriously scare yourself. In any case, this 450 bhp Turbo S cannot be hooned or used to frighten the driver. The value is in its rarity and low mileage, so no point spending all that cash on a car to go crazy in.
That said, there is more money in the world that I can comprehend, so these two could be gone by the weekend.
by John Glynn | Jul 20, 2014 | Porsche Cayenne, Project Cars
“What’s that smell, dad?” asked youngest daughter as our Porsche Cayenne stormed away from a t-junction on a recent morning school run. The odour seemed familiar, but took a few hours to recall out what it was.
At first I thought the acrid, slightly burnt aroma was from the car in front, but when I heard the heater fan seizing up as I arrived in a car park later that morning, I remembered the smell when my 911 blower fan failed in the south of France on the 2010 R Gruppe Bergmeister Tour. Same thing.
The Porsche Cayenne is known for blower fan failure. These cars are big inside, with only one fan controlling the climate, so of course the fan is going to need replacement at some stage. I’d known it was getting weak for a while, but not been too anxious to change the fan as it’s a Porsche-only item and suitably priced. Now it was time to sort it out.
Some people spend hours repairing the heater fans (with unknown reliability), but that’s messing around I haven’t got time for. Chris at JZM recommended changing the heater blower resistor at the same time as, having been under increased current draw for such a long time, these usually fail soon after the blower fan is replaced. There speaks the voice of experience.
Once the parts were in stock, I set a Saturday morning aside to fit the new fan. Fitting the fan was easy: take out the glovebox, undo the wiring and seven hex screws, swap the fan over and put it all back together. The resistor is two screws and right in front of you when the glovebox is out: it’s a Volkswagen part, of course.
With the new fan fitted, the Cayenne is now cool & composed inside. Total cost was something like £300, but I’ve yet to see the parts bill. It’s a small price to pay for the pleasure and comfort with outside temps topping thirty degrees C ambient this year.
My next problem is a water leak: small but enough to annoy me at circa 750mls in 5k miles. The coolant pipes have already been done, so my first port of call will be checking the water pump. The Cayenne is due an oil change anyway, so we’ll have a look when that gets done.
by John Glynn | Jul 20, 2014 | Porsche Cayenne, Project Cars
If I ever recover from our last family holiday in the Cayenne (to Ireland last Easter) enough to want another one, and we take Ted the Jack Russell Terrier, he will get half the boot space. With four women ready to fill up the other half, I’ve been looking for a roof box as a just-in-case measure.
New Porsche roof boxes are silly money, so a used box is the obvious solution. eBay is usually the best place to find used Porsche accessories, and I’ve had a saved search for Porsche roof boxes running for a while. A quick flick on the search one lunchtime last week found a black Porsche roofbox out in Suffolk. Looking at the seller’s other items, he also had a set of 19″ Cayenne wheels with winter tyres.
eBay Porsche Wheels and Tyres
Having finally killed off the part-worn winters from last year, I needed replacement winter tyres and I wanted a roofbox, so one quick email offer later, both items were mine. I arranged collection for the following morning and duly set off after dropping the kids to school. It’s a 200-mile round trip from here to Suffolk on the east coast of England. Sat nav said a couple of hours with a few country short cuts, some of which turned out to be excellent roads. Noted for future 911 drives.
One great thing about Porsche ownership is the variety of interesting people who run around in these cars. Having met undertakers, dentists, truck drivers and more through buying and selling Porsches and parts, this latest deal was with Sean: an obviously talented property developer.
Sean’s place (above) was an amazing manor house. Seemingly 150 years old, it turned out to be a new build using carefully chosen materials. As someone who is still buying reclaimed building supplies for an ongoing Victorian house rebuild, the house appeared to have stood since the 1850s or earlier. It was absolutely beautiful: the pics are from the architect’s website.
We fitted the roof box on its Porsche roof rails and threw the wheels in the Cayenne. Ted approved of the boot space (below): now all we need is a boot divider for him. And some space to store this massive bit of luggage. Shouldn’t be a problem when the garage is built.
Modern Cayenne not as Well Built as Original
Sean was selling the roof box, as he had recently bought his third Cayenne, but the new Porsche Cayenne doesn’t come with the roof channels required to fit these boxes. A previous owner of a V8 like mine, a Turbo and now a new Turbodiesel, he felt that newer Cayennes had been lessened by removing items found on early cars, to make new cars easier to manufacture. This included the roof channel system and raised windscreen edges: the lack of which allowed water to run straight in through open front windows. Wet shirt sleeves are not appreciated when you’ve shelled out sixty grand or more on a car.
A similar thing happened to early BMW Minis. BMW couldn’t make money retaining the substantial build quality of the first production examples, so the cars got cheaper to build over time. It’s also said that lowering production costs was one motivation for the transition from air-cooled to water-cooled 911s, but let’s not go there.
Porsche Roof Box is a Thule Product
Having since spent an hour refining the fit, sliding it forward a bit to clear the DAB aerial and allow the boot to open fully, the roofbox – which is a Thule product, painted in black and rebadged as Porsche – fits the Cayenne really well.
Screwed to the genuine roof rails/cross bars using custom fittings, it opens from both sides and is rattle-free over bumps. There’s a bit of wind noise at 90mph and a minor impact on fuel economy, but no more than 10% lost. I’ve run with it for five days now and been impressed. A good buy for £200!
